


.long distance

by AkaToMidori



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkaToMidori/pseuds/AkaToMidori
Summary: He got his phone from his jacket’s pocket and frowned at the name on the screen. It was the middle of the night in Japan right now, and he couldn’t think of any reason why his boyfriend would be calling at this hour that didn’t involve some sort of catastrophe, emergency, or possibly even murder.
Relationships: Aiba Masaki/Sakurai Sho
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29
Collections: Sakuraiba Tanabata 2019-2020





	.long distance

**Author's Note:**

> _Jan 13_  
>  Prompt: “I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Sho had just finished putting on his suit when his phone rang. He recognized the ringtone immediately as coming from his personal phone, which struck him as strange, since the only people who knew that number were all in Japan while he was in New York closing a deal. He got his phone from his jacket’s pocket and frowned at the name on the screen. It was the middle of the night in Japan right now, and he couldn’t think of any reason why his boyfriend would be calling at this hour that didn’t involve some sort of catastrophe, emergency, or possibly even murder.

“Masaki?” Sho said, picking up. “Is everything okay?”

“Sho-chan,” the voice from the other side replied. “Yes, everything is fine. Are you busy now?”

Sho looked at his watch. “It’s not yet time for my business lunch, so I’m still at the hotel. What’s wrong? It’s the middle of the night there.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Aiba said. “You said you’re in your room?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I see you then?”

Instead of being reassured, Sho felt even more worried when he heard that. “Of course. I’ll call you from my computer.”

“Thanks, Sho-chan,” Aiba said sleepily.

As soon as Sho heard the familiar click of the call being dropped, he grabbed his computer from the desk and sat on his bed. The whole time it took him to turn on his computer and call Aiba, he couldn’t help but wonder what was up.

The call went through immediately, with Aiba picking up straight away. He was sitting on his bed too, in his pajamas and with tousled hair, the small lamp on the nightstand being the only source of light in the room. He held his phone in front of him and smiled when Sho’s face appeared on his screen.

“Hello,” he said.

Sho couldn’t help but smile back. He always found Aiba’s face as he slept adorable, but just-waking-up-Aiba was cute too. His eyes would usually still be unfocused, and his words would carry a slight lull to them that wouldn’t disappear before he had his first coffee of the day. Contrary to Aiba, Sho wasn’t a morning person, so he didn’t get to see that sight often, but that just made the times he did feel more precious.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

Aiba took the compliment with a small giggle. “What time is it over there?”

“It’s almost twelve thirty,” Sho said, checking his watch again. “Which begs the question, why are you still awake at two thirty at night? Did you just come back from work?”

Aiba yawned. “Oh no, I came back hours ago. Though not thanks to the boss. If it were for her, we’d still be there making sure that every single comma is perfect for tomorrow’s big issue.”

“Is your article still making the cover?”

Aiba closed his eyes and smiled peacefully. “You betcha. Matsujun wasn’t too happy about it, but he’ll get me back next month for sure. He’s aiming to be the youngest male to get the writer’s award for biggest number of cover features in a year.”

“The financial year will end soon, do you think he’ll get it?”

Aiba made a noise. “Probably?”

Sho chuckled. “It doesn’t bother you that he might beat _your_ record of youngest male to get the writer’s award for biggest number of cover features in a year?”

Aiba waved a hand. “His success is not a threat to mine. I’d be happy if he got it. In fact, I hope he does, he’d be less annoying, frankly,” he added with a laugh.

“Ever so wise,” Sho said, smirking. He took off his jacket and looked at his boyfriend. “So?”

“What?”

“You know. The call.”

“Can’t I just want to call my boyfriend who’s half the world away and whom I miss very much?”

“At two a.m.?” Sho raised an eyebrow. “Go on, fess up.”

On the screen, Aiba shrugged. “Alright. I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Sho almost laughed at that. “Are you serious?”

Aiba pouted. “It looked very real! I thought something had happened to you and people were calling me to tell me, only they’d start speaking English at me.”

“Truly a nightmare, then,” Sho commented, knowing the panic Aiba got into every time somebody would start talking to him in English. Loosening his tie a bit, he leaned back on the headboard to get comfortable. “And what was your nightmare about?”

“You will just make fun of me,” Aiba’s static voice whined from the computer’s speakers.

Sho put a hand over his heart. “I won’t. Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a scout,” Aiba retorted. With a suspicious look in his direction, he leaned back like Sho had just done, and spoke again. “Anyway, it’s not important. Now I know you’re safe.”

“Are you feeling better, then?”

Aiba hummed sleepily. “When are you coming back again?” he asked nonchalantly.

Sho knew that Aiba counted the days until he would be back. Every morning, he would send him a text telling him how long it would be until he could kiss him again. Most of the time, the content of the message would be sweet and would make Sho feel warm inside, but some other times, Aiba would describe in detail what he would do to him as soon as he’d see him, and Sho would feel warm for other reasons.

“Well, the last text you sent me said three days,” Sho said. He meant to tease Aiba about it, but the longing in his voice didn’t deliver the joke properly.

Aiba smiled. “Almost there, then.”

“Almost there,” Sho repeated, looking at him softly. “Will you be able to sleep now?”

Turning off the lights, Aiba laid down on the bed with his phone next to him on Sho’s side and nodded. “Yes, thank you. Good luck on your business lunch, Sho-chan.”

Sho smiled brightly at him. “Good night, Masaki. I love you.”

“I love you too, Sho-chan,” Aiba mumbled, and as soon as he finished saying that, Sho could see that he was already fast asleep.

“You forgot to close the call, idiot,” he whispered, affectionately.

Sho checked his watch quickly to see how much time he had left before he had to go out to lunch. With five minutes to spare – maybe even ten, if he didn’t mind making a run for it – he decided he could relax for a bit and look at Aiba sleep for a while, counting the seconds till he’d finally be able to sleep beside him, and have him in his arms again.


End file.
